Hallowed Ground

Fort Donelson National Cemetery was established in 1867 as the final resting place for Union soldiers and sailors who died during the Civil War and were buried in this area. The cemetery occupies the site of the second Fort Donelson built in 1863 by Union soldiers and freedmen from the nearby freedmen's village. Initially 670 Union soldiers (512 of them unknown) were reinterred here from battlefield graves, local cemeteries, and nearby towns. Among the Civil War soldiers buried here are five known and nine unknown soldiers from the United States Colored Troops. No longer active, the national cemetery also contains the remains of veterans who served the United States in later wars.<br><br>The outer ring of headstones marks the graves of 62 soldiers from the 11th Illinois Infantry, killed resisting the Confederate breakout attempt of February 15, 1862.<br><br>Judge James E. Rice, prominent Dover citizen and civilian aide to Gen. Gideon Pillow during the Battle of Fort Donelson, visits the national cemetery about 1880. Note the cannon used as gate posts.<br><br>